Tarot and Desiderata

April 14, 2010

A valuable practice is to associate Tarot cards with … well, with anything. It is great practice for doing readings, it is a great way to expand your understanding of the cards, and it encourages thought about things in general.

With that in mind, I decided to take a shot at considering which cards go well with various phrases or “statements” in the Desiderata.[1] I made these choices by reading each passage and seeing which card(s) came to mind, which was an intuitive (versus analytical) process. This is not meant to be a definitive set of associations by any means, and I invite your thoughts on this.

Note that some cards appear more than once, since every card has more than one meaning. Also, I have picked just one or two cards per instance, even though several cards may have come to mind.

Again, this is just an exercise. I hope it inspires you to do the same thing, either with this “prose poem” or with something else.

…

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

High Priestess; King of Cups

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.

Three of Cups

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Ace of Swords; Queen of Swords

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.

Five of Swords; Knight of Wands

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Temperance; The Devil

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Four of Wands; Two of Wands

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Eight of Pentacles; The Wheel of Fortune

Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.

King of Pentacles; Seven of Swords

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;

King of Swords; The Star

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

The Hanged Man; Seven of Wands

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.

The Fool; Knight of Cups

Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Four of Cups; Ace of Cups

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

The Hermit

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

Strength; The Tower

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Nine of Swords

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

Strength; Nine of Pentacles

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

The Fool

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

The Wheel of Fortune; The World

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,

The Hanged Man; The Hierophant

and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.

Five of Wands; The World

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.

Thanks Donnaleigh! In that the Hanged Man can indicate self-sacrifice to help others, I see him as a hero sometimes. Of course, there are other cards that can be “heroic” sometimes (like the Strength card), but that’s what came to me as I read this piece.
By the way, if you like this post, you may like this one too: https://jamesricklef.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/tarot-images-everywhere/
PS: “Think in Tarot” is a great way to put it. 😀

Feel free to share this link, but please do not copy this post in its entirety. You might, for example, post something like this:
“I absolutely love and live by the words of the Desiderata, but applying the Tarot to it is epic! See how James Ricklef did just that on his blog! — https://jamesricklef.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/tarot-and-desiderata/”

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